Towing a fifth wheel back from anchorage ak February

Well the tea family hasn't been back in 4 days......
I'd abandon the idea too. Doable? Yes. Easy or comfortable? No.
Have to park it in one of them c rathole rv parks in town along the Seward hiway in town I think. Not sure I seen any other year round rv parks.
Unless "Texas now" but used to pulling heavy loads in the worst conditions possible is what Texas as a location means, I wouldn't expect the drive either way to be fun. Although dead of winter the roads ride a lot better!
For the cost of pulling the trailer up there, renting a spot, propane, and hauling it back, bet you could find an apartment for less for that short of time in the off season and have a much more pleasurable experience.
Not sure what Anchorwge based jobs are winter only seasonal. Maybe the odd Slope job using Atown as a home base? If that's the case, the homeless will be living in your camper when u get back if you park it in town.

In the 1960s I remember temps to -65F in the Beaver Creek area.

At our current Yukon home, we had temps to -45 the first few winters. Then two winters ago it didn't go below -40. Last winter it didn't go below -30 and it rained in February.

We're going coastal...

talonhead wrote:
It does get cold there, but not as cold for as long as it does in the interior. They also get more snow in the south. We had dedicated winter/summer tires on the vehicles. Cars and trucks 2wd/4wd studs all around in the winter.

First snow is still there in the Spring.

The last time I drove the Al-Can it wasn't paved all the way;) the roads WERE better in the winter.AK/CAN WINTERS ARE NO JOKE. Be prepared! It's a long stretch between gas stations that are open. Most camp grounds are closed and almost no tourist traffic. That leaves: Locals, long haul, and the occasional person that is moving at the wrong time of the year.
I would love to make the drive again.

My first trip was in the 70's delivering motorhomes. Made many trips every year & flying back to Detroit for another. That was before the road was finished. It was a rough trip, but you know it wasn't that bad in the winter. Sure it was cold but better than late-spring when the frost heaves got mushy.

I was there this past Summer and it was disappointing. I preferred the Yukon.

I was in Delta Junction when the Pipeline was built. The lowest mark on the thermometer was -65. In '74 we spent 3weeks out of school as the temp hit -50 (with wind chill) then kept dropping. After the first week, ambient was below that last mark! We lived in a log basement that was built in the late fifties. I think it was a good thing that most of the house was in the ground.
On the other side of the mountains to the south, my dad then my little sister started out in Kenai, then Palmer, then Talkeetna. It does get cold there, but not as cold for as long as it does in the interior. They also get more snow in the south. We had dedicated winter/summer tires on the vehicles. Cars and trucks 2wd/4wd studs all around in the winter.
The last time I drove the Al-Can it wasn't paved all the way;) the roads WERE better in the winter. My older sister and I drove from D.J. to Houston, TX starting in early March. We were in a Mercury Comet. We had a roof rack with 2 mounted spares, a 5 gal gas can. Extra food and water. We could even sleep in the car if needed. We made the most of the limited room in the car to make sure we were prepared for just about any emergency and still have room for some personal stuff. We mailed boxes ahead to relatives so we could minimize.
AK/CAN WINTERS ARE NO JOKE. Be prepared! It's a long stretch between gas stations that are open. Most camp grounds are closed and almost no tourist traffic. That leaves: Locals, long haul, and the occasional person that is moving at the wrong time of the year.
I would love to make the drive again.

Hey, some of us resemble that remark! :) I had to put on a long sleeve shirt the other day, does that count as Alaskan?

" Now most people that live in Anchorage and think they are living the rugged Alaska lifestyle, all seem to live where it is much colder than what the weather bureau reports. LOL."

The stay in Anchorage shouldn't be any big problem. There is a reason that the Anchorage Bowl area is known as the Banana Belt of Alaska. Anchorage, due to the warm Japanese Ocean Current close by, has a climate much like Colorado Springs. The Springs does have more extremes on both ends of the temperature scale. Now most people that live in Anchorage and think they are living the rugged Alaska lifestyle, all seem to live where it is much colder than what the weather bureau reports. LOL. My BIL who used to live in Anchorage liked to tell visitors about the time it got to -40 F for two weeks at his house. I had to pull weather records to show him it had never been -40 F recorded in the city. One day , back before he and I were born it had gotten down to something like -38F.

If it wasn't for the warm ocean current near by, Anchorage would have a climate more like that of Nome, Alaska and probably be about the same size. My wife and I owned some rental 4 plexes, in Anchorage across the street from Worthington Ford. Majority of renters were military, many of whom had transferred up from the base in Minot, ND. They thought they had been sent to the tropics after a winter or so in Minot.

To tow in February, both the tow vehicle and the 5th wheel will need to be winterized, to get through the much colder Interior of Alaska and Canada. Electrical heated battery blankets, engine heaters, all lubricants changed to synthetics. (I spun the bearings in the rear differential of a new GMC pickup I had just purchased in Fairbanks one winter. The desler's shop has missed changing it to synthetics so they got to pay for a tow and a new differential)

I always found the winter roads around Anchorage to be much slicker than around Fairbanks, Beaver Creek,Tok, Glennallen in the Interior. As it gets super cold, ice and snow take on the feel of sandpaper when packed on a road surface. The same applies to flying a ski equipped plane in the north country. When it is super cold, -40F or colder the snow and ice will bring you to a halt much quicker when landing. When it is above zero, at times you wonder if the plane will ever stop, as the end of the landing strip gets closer and closer. LOL I spent 25 winters in Alaska, most of it in the Interior and probably preferred winter time for driving, so long as the vehicle was properly prepared.

Two questions: Do you have a 4x4 tow vehicle? And, can you stay until March?

If you have traction control and chains, you may be able to get by with a 4x2 truck, but I wouldn't do it. And with a 4x2, you may be putting the chains on a lot more often than just when the "chain up" signs are up.

In Texas, you probably don't need a trailer with an "Arctic package" and a TV with winter tires and a block heater. You may not even have tire chains, an extra fuel tank, or an electrically heated water hose. All of these extras cost money and so does all that propane that you will be using. And seasonal campers generally pay for their electric power, as well as their propane, so that could get expensive too if you decide to heat electrically. As others have said, you need to include all these costs in your budget for the trip.

The weather will be better in March than February, you will have more sunlight, and chances are a little better that a few more RV parks and motels will be open. And, if you stay until March, you can watch the start of the Iditarod in Anchorage and the restart in Willow!

Scottiemom wrote:
I'm curious, Sue, as to the temperatures you experienced on that 11 hour drive from Anchorage to home. . .

Dale

It was quite nice out - might have been below freezing here or there, I don't know though. I was inside my car most of the way :D

n7bsn wrote:

06Fargo wrote:
....
If you route home via the great plains you will travel in many days of winter weather. If you route home via Yukon,BC, and the west states you will have milder weather and lose winter sooner.
Sounds like an adventure...

Unfortunately the BC to Washington route gives lots more mountain passes. So it's a mixed thing.

True but if the chain up signs are up me would rather put the jewelry on to cross a pass in mild winter weather than deal with -30 below and a breeze blowing on the plains...

If you do 'do it'...for heavens sake, post pix and text. Befores, during's and after's. Please.


Gary Haupt